Dark Horse
by Noir loup
Summary: Marmalade was born and raised in Shield. She had always been just a normal agent, a normal spy. But she was ready for something greater. A challenge. She was ready to join the Avengers. With the help of her adoptive father/brother, Tony Stark, she is—reluctantly—accepted as an Avenger. And now, there is a new terrorist on Earth. The thing is . . . he isn't from Earth.
1. Chapter 1

There was a new terrorist on Earth. A dangerous one. A diabolical one. But no one knew who he was. No one knew of his actions. Everyone thought they were unfortunate accidents. And the best part about him, he wasn't even from Earth. His "minions" were of course, human. But his followers, the hooded ones, were far from human. Like him. He had one urge. An urge to rule the Earth, or destroy it.

He studied the others who had tried and failed. He studied their flaws. Their mistakes. He wasn't going to do what they did.

The terrorist gazed at the various monitors. The faces of the Avengers and all the information gathered on them, Loki's defeat, Mandarin's destruction. He was going to win. He was certain of that.

He grinned slyly, "I'll take this world right under their noses."

* * *

Marmalade sat alone in a Starbucks cafe, absently sipping on a warm, sweetened cup of coffee. She thought of all the things that had happened to her in her eighteen years of life.

Her parents, elite agents of Shield, had been classified as MIAs when she was four. Now, they're just assumed dead. She had roamed the streets of La Jolla lonely as an orphan who ran away from orphanages. And then she met Tony Stark. After he almost ran her over with his fancy car. He had expected him to just carry on to wherever he was going. But he took her. He had sympathy.

Marmalade scoffed, _Back_ then _he had sympathy._

He took her to his house and fixed her up. After being alone and hungry and filthy for nearly a year, she was a wreck to fix. But he was good at fixing things. He had named her Marmalade because he had been listening to 'Lady Marmalade' on the radio when he nearly hit her.

When they had come back from Switzerland in 2000, she noticed Tony had changed. He didn't spend as much time with her as he usually did. She spent most of her time with Miss Pepper Potts when he had hired her. When she was eight, she ran away. She didn't expect Tony to worry so much that he started looking for her himself. But she wasn't found by him. She was found by Phil Coulson, a rookie agent at the time. He looked her up and after a day, he learned that she was the daughter of Augustus and Priscilla Chevalier. The two best agents of their time.

After debating with Tony, he convinced him to let her join Shield.

Marmalade smiled. Tony had made her smarter than the average child. He was discreetly turning her into the female version of himself. But it didn't work out exactly. He gave Marmalade intelligence. But he didn't change her shy, innocent personality.

Some of her innocence left her, though. Being a Shield agent, she learned things kids her age were never taught. With Nick Fury as her rare, secret supervisor, Clint Barton as her coach and "brother", and Agent Coulson as her personal mentor, she became a fully fledged Shield agent and spy.

Marmalade frowned at her empty cup of coffee. But she shrugged it off as she stood up and tossed the cup into a trash bin.

* * *

**Alright, finally got a story. I really like this character, Marmalade. I plan on having a lot of fun with her. I hope to update this story at least once a week.**

**X Noir loup**


	2. Chapter 2

Fury frowned as his one eye looked at the monitor in front of him. Seven explosions. All of them were by the same person. Who that person was? No one knew. But of course, there were people trying to find out who.

"Sir."

Fury glanced over his shoulder, "Barton. Any luck?"

Agent Barton exhaled loudly as he fidgeted with one of his arrows, "No, sir. Nothing. Not even bomb casings."

"This is like the Mandarin all over again," Fury sighed. "Only this time, he isn't broadcasting and showing off. So there aren't any actors at play."

"Doesn't mean there isn't anyone controlling them. Using them as puppets."

"What about Agent Ward and his team? Have they reported anything new?"

Barton shook his head, "No, sir. Nothing."

"And Romanoff. Nothing, right?"

"Unfortunately."

Fury frowned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I want this man found, Barton. People will start asking questions. And that's a bad thing."

"Yes, sir." Barton turned on his heel and left as he returned the arrow to the sack behind his back with the other arrows.

Fury let out another sigh as Agent Hill joined him, "What are we going to do if we don't find this terrorist soon?"

Nick Fury paused before answering, "Then we let out the hounds."

* * *

A week later, the "hounds" were summoned.

Tony Stark sat in the garage of his newly built mansion. He was recreating suits. This time, he wasn't staying up all night to do it. Tony sat in his seat with sunglasses on as he took a blow-torch to his fifth suit.

_Ding-dong._

He frowned as an exasperated exhale escaped his lips. After turning off the blow-torch, he removed his sunglasses, "Jarvis, why are we _still_ using the ding-dong? It's getting old."

"Sorry, sir, it shall be changed right away," Jarvis answered.

"Alright, who is it?"

"Agent Romanoff of Shield, sir."

Tony's brows knit together, "What on Earth is Black Widow doing here? If that crazy lady has any plans, I'll have to remind her of Pepper, huh?"

"Sir, she's at the door."

Natasha opened the unlocked door. She studied the area, the mansion resembled Tony's destroyed house in Malibu. But it was bigger. Grander. Jarvis scanned her as she walked further into the mansion. "Stark?" she called. "I know you're here."

Tony came up from downstairs, "You called?"

Natasha stopped in her tracks as she folded her arms, "You're wanted by Director Fury, Stark."

He sighed, "What is it now? Lost his eyepatch in the Atlantic Ocean or something? 'Cause I finished an aquatic suit last month, been dying to try it out."

The Shield agent ignored him, "All you need to know is in these files." She pulled out a transparent tablet and handed it to him. "Fury wants you on the Helicarrier as soon as possible."

Tony frowned as he took the tablet, "What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll make you," Natasha smirked. The smirk faded to a straight face, "This is serious, Stark. If it weren't it would have been set in stone a _long_ time ago. Now if you don't mind, I have a get Banner."

Tony laughed, "Have fun."

* * *

The next day, Romanoff found herself standing in front of the Stark Tower in New York City. It had been completely repaired and fully functioning and crawling with employees. When she entered the building, she was greeted by Stark's CEO, Pepper Potts.

"Natasha," Pepper smiled. "Good to see you. Or, maybe it isn't?"

Natasha sighed as she shook her head, "I'm here for Banner. I already spoke with Stark yesterday."

"Yes, I know, he called. Banner is on the top floor. Mind if I walk with you?"

"So long as you keep everything you hear classified and unspoken to anyone else."

"I'm good at doing that."

When they got to the highest floor of the tower, Pepper led Natasha to the bar. "Banner will be out here in a moment."

"What has he been working on?"

Pepper shrugged with a sigh, "Won't tell me. Not even Stark."

"Hmm," Natasha breathed as Pepper handed her a shot.

After a few sips, Banner entered the room. He frowned softly at the sight of Black Widow, "Natasha."

She flashed him a smile, "Bruce. Everything been calm and steady?"

He nodded. "Why are you here?"

"Fury needs you. Not _him_, just you." She pulled out a file from within her leather coat. "There's been a terrorist. You know about the bombings, right?" She handed it to him.

Bruce nodded slowly as he opened the file and flipped through, skimming. "I thought you would've handled him by now. Right?"

She shook her head, "We haven't found anything. Fury has been comparing him to the Mandarin. No casings have been found. Just a small crater in the center of the explosion sight."

"Last time, you said you only needed _me_. But he still showed up."

"Because of the circumstances Loki's wrath came to. He can't see the future, Bruce. We never wanted you to do what you didn't want to do. We never intended to have Hulk rear his face."

Bruce chuckled, "His _ugly_ face, you mean?"

Natasha only smiled. "Will you help us?"

Bruce sighed softly, "If I recall from the last time you came to me. I don't exactly have a choice."

* * *

Steve Rogers sighed heavily as he collapsed onto the couch in his apartment. Another Shield agent had abandoned him in the middle of his studies of the modern time. It seemed as if no one had the time for him. The patience.

He ran his hand through his hair as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The doorbell rang, causing him to jump. Steve rubbed his blue eyes with his palms as he got off of the couch and walked to the door. When he opened it, Agent Coulson stood before him.

His jaw nearly dropped, "Coulson?"

"Steve, nice to see you again."

"Wh-what . . . I thought you were dead."

"Maybe for a moment. But it was mostly just loss of consciousness. I ended up in a coma for a while, but I'm all fixed up now. You mind?"

"Oh, uh, no, of course not." Steve stepped aside as he let Coulson in. "What have you been doing, then?"

"Helping out rookies, consulting the new agent, Ward, with his team. Other than that, not much. Fury needs you, again."

Steve frowned. "Another Hydra weapon?"

"No, a terrorist. An unknown terrorist. That's the worst kind. We've been trying to find something for a month now. Still nothing. Fury wants the Avengers because he fears this terrorist isn't . . . a _normal_ terrorist."

"Like the Mandarin?"

"Worst."

* * *

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice," Fury smirked softly. The Avengers, aside from Thor, were now gathered at the Bridge in front of Fury and Coulson. "You have heard—now read—about the terrorist. People call him the Shadow. Better than just 'the terrorist'. He has had seven bombings. One in India, Norway, Greenland, Canada, and three in the States. There has been absolutely no evidence of what kind of bomb had been used."

"What do you want us to do then?" Stark asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I want you and Banner to find evidence. Clues of anything. Barton and Romanoff will return to their designated locations, Coulson will go to Greenland to help Agent Ward. Rogers, I want you ready to be sent anywhere something has been found. You too, Stark. Who knows if there's someone waiting. Selvig and Foster are currently working on getting communications to or near the Asgardian realm. Until then, it's just you. Got it?"

He received "Yes, sir", "Yes, Director", or nods as response. None of them were enthusiastic.

* * *

**I decided to post the next chapter early. All other chapters will be posted on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Teehee, ****_Agents of Shield_**** reference with Agent Ward. But trust me, he's only mentioned in the story, it isn't a crossover. **

**X Noir loup**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shout out to Cinderfire16, LadySaphire, Michalied, & makeyouloveme for being the first few to follow ****_and_**** favorite ****_Dark Horse_****!**

* * *

Marmalade walked down the halls of the Helicarrier with a natural swagger. A ghost of a smirk was stitched onto her face. Her coarse, wavy, messy dark brown hair that was died dirty blonde flowed softly from the speed of her walk. She had beautiful, shiny-looking olive skin that looked naturally tan. She wore a sleeveless black leather coat that ended just beneath her waist and denim shorts. On her left arm was an old scar. A bullet wound.

She chuckled to herself, "You better watch out, Nick Fury."

* * *

"Sir! I just received a report. Evidence was found in Hønefoss, Norway."

"I want Rogers, Stark, and Banner here now," Fury commanded. "Notify Barton and Romanoff, tell them to start heading there now."

In minutes, the three of the Avengers sat around the table at the bridge.

"So, who's the brainiac that found the evidence before us?" Tony asked.

"Me."

Everyone turned their heads to face Marmalade, who had just entered the room. Eyes widened and Tony's jaw dropped.

"Agent Marmalade," Fury growled. "I did not assign you to this project. You were supposed to be stationed in Siberia searching for Tesseract-related energy."

Marmalade straightened herself as she faced her superior, "I did, Director. There was nothing there, just false findings. So, since I had finished my assignment in Siberia early, I merely decided to stop by the bomb sight in Hønefoss."

Fury frowned, "What did you find then?"

She sweetly made a mocking smile, "Tesseract energy. The _faintest_ of traces, however. I was able to find shards of glass that had contained a . . . _sparkly_—as I had put in the report—liquid substance on one of the shards. Aside from that, everything else was vaporized, like the Mandarin bombings."

Fury's frown deepened.

"Well, well, if it isn't my little French Poodle!"

Marmalade sighed as she glanced over at the billionaire with a smile, "Hi, Tony." Tony always called her "French Poodle", sometimes just "Poodle" or "Frenchy". Anything related to France because she had spent most of her time there, and it was her second language.

Tony stood up and spread his arms. Marmalade grinned as she hugged her adoptive father. "Missed you, French-Fry."

Marmalade as she stepped out of the hug, "Sure you did."

Fury cleared his throat, regaining their attentions. "Thank you, Marmalade, for finding this information. The Captain and Stark will head down there right away with Barton and Romanoff."

"Me, too, right?"

"Did I say your name?"

Marmalade's infectious smile faded as she glowered at her boss, "Director, I found that evidence, I should be going there, too. Why do you restrain me from showing the best of my skills?"

"Agent Marmalade, I want you with Banner. When they return with more evidence I want your confirmation. This is the end of our conversation."

Marmalade frowned as she sighed, "Yes, Director." She turned on her heel and headed toward Banner's lab. The young agent was disappointed. Marmalade had been trying to convince Fury to let her join the Avengers even before the attack of Loki and the Chitari in New York City. After every try, Fury would decline her without a second thought.

"Hey! Frenchy!"

She smirked softly at Tony's voice. Marmalade stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder to see Tony jogging toward her. When he caught up to her, they continued their walk to the lab.

"I think it'd be cool if you were Avengers with the rest us," Tony murmured as he swung his arm around her shoulders. "You're just as skilled as Hawkeye, and just as badass and beautiful as Black Widow—well, maybe, a _little_ bit more beautiful."

Marmalade rolled her eyes, "Thank you for the flattery, Tony. But, i-i-it's fine, I guess. I mean, there must be a good reason as to why Fury won't let me join like . . . I'm not good enough, or something."

"Of course you're good enough. Coulson basically took you in as his apprentice! You've got chops, kid. Avenger chops."

"Avenger chops?"

"Hey, I'm trying to help you here."

Marmalade abruptly stopped and looked at Tony. "You really wanna help me?"

Tony turned to face her and smiled softly, "Of course I do. You're my little girl, right?"

"Well, I have an idea. And I need your . . . assistance to do it."

* * *

**Yea, Marmalade's first official appearance! Writing Tony and Marmalade's father-daughter/brother-sister relationship is gonna be fun. **

**Geez, I just couldn't resist waiting for next week to post another chapter. There haven't been any reviews or anything, but there's been a lot of views. So I just had to post yet another chapter. But I swear, from now on, only one chapter a week. Hehe. 3**

**Remember: comments are highly appreciated.**

**X Noir loup**


	4. Chapter 4

Captain America and Iron Man met up with Black Widow and Hawkeye in Hønefoss just a few hours after Marmalade had discovered the evidence. After acknowledging each other, they made their way to the bomb sight in a jet-black Shield vehicle.

"So, Lady Marmalade found the evidence?" Hawkeye asked with a smirk as he drove the SUV.

Tony chuckled within the hotrod-red and gold suit, "Yep, she did." Then he frowned, "She should be here, working with us. She's better than Fury thinks."

"He must have his reasons, right?" Steve asked.

"You don't know Marmalade like we do, Capsicle. She's like the female version of me and Jackie Chan. You never see her coming."

"Jackie Chan . . ?" Steve cocked a brow.

"An Asian martial artist," answered Natasha.

"She's also good with swords, guns, hand-to-hand combat. She should be an Avenger for sure."

"Maybe it's better she isn't," Steve shrugged. "A lot happens not just during, but in the aftermath, too. You should know, Stark."

"You wanna go there, Spangles?"

"Stark," Black Widow gave Iron Man a warning glance.

"We're here," Hawkeye murmured as he stopped the car.

The bomb sight looked like it had a beating from hell. A round area of destruction lied before them. It resembled a crater. There wasn't much left of anything that was here.

"We have to be alert," said Tony. "Marmalade said she had been chased out of here. She assumed they were people working for the Shadow."

"Alright, Barton and I will stay as lookouts," Steve murmured as he pulled his mask over his face. "You and Romanoff can investigate."

Hawkeye stationed himself atop a building nearby. He had an arrow ready in his bowstring. Captain America was on the ground, hidden, on the other side of the bomb sight. Iron Man and Black Widow slowly scanned the bomb sight. Tony sighed, "I never signed up for field work."

"Your whining isn't very appreciated, Stark," the Captain muttered under his breath. Tony wasn't in earshot, but Romanoff couldn't help but smile at Steve's remark, "A lot of things Stark does isn't appreciated."

"Yeah, while you guys criticize me, I think I found something," announced Tony. As if on cue, men wearing black masks stepped out from their hiding places and open-fired at Iron Man with guns. Immediately the group went into action. Black Widow unsheathed both of his guns and began shooting at anyone with the black masks. From above, Hawkeye shot arrows, nailing his targets in either the chest or head. Captain America fought hand-to-hand combat. Often he would hit them with his round, signature shield. Iron Man had forgotten about what he had found and began shooting at the masked men.

Suddenly, a blue laser narrowly missed the Captain's head when he ducked under a punch. The laser hit just the man's hand, but it vaporized his entire body. Steve gasped. He recognized the weapon. It was a Hydra weapon. He turned to face a hooded figure that held a Hydra gun aimed at him. Before he could fire again, Captain America threw his shield, hitting him square on the chest.

"Cap'n, these are Hydra weapons," said Tony as he shot more lasers at more masked men. "We weren't prepared for this, we'll have to get out of here. Come back later."

Steve nodded as he retrieved his shield, "Let's get out of here then."

Quickly, the group left and returned to the vehicle. They drove away before the men could follow them.

"Never knew you to retreat so quickly," Hawkeye chuckled softly as he parked the car in an alley. "Never knew you to retreat at all."

"Like I said," Tony panted as his face mask lifted up, revealing a dirty, sweating face, "we aren't prepared for Hydra weapons. They could vaporize us. You saw what happened to that man. And it only hit his hand."

"Next time, we go in disguises. Make less of a show," Steve murmured.

"When's 'next time'?" asked Natasha.

"Two days, at least. They'll probably still be there tomorrow."

* * *

Marmalade smirked. Her plan had gone accordingly. She stood hidden behind the corner of a building. She had watched the entire scene unfold. The Hydra weapon that nearly vaporized Captain America.

Stealthily, she crept toward the unconscious body of the man who had the Hydra weapon. Marmalade picked up the weapon and tested it on the limp man. He vaporized in an instant. The power of the gun she held in her hands shocked her, but she needed it in order to accomplish her goal.

"Hey!"

A masked man yelled her. Quickly, Marmalade vaporized him. She shot at every masked man, making sure there was no one who could report back to their leader. All except one. Marmalade ran after the last man. She needed one alive. It didn't take long for the blonde brunette to catch up to him.

Suddenly, the man turned on her and fire his gun. Marmalade winced when the bullet skimmed her right shoulder. But she didn't let it slow her down as she brutally swung the large Hydra gun, whacking the masked man on the head. He collapsed to the ground, his consciousness lost.

Marmalade smirked as she put the gun behind her back, strapping around her. Tony had never found anything. He just needed to alert the men and get them out of their hiding places.

Marmalade dragged the limp, heavy body back to her own vehicle. Once he was handcuffed in the back of the car, she hopped into the front seat and pulled out her phone, "All done here, Tony. See you at the Helicarrier."

* * *

**I won't be here this weekend. At my grandmother's house. So I decided to post this early since I already had it all done for you.**

**Marmalade's sneaky plan worked! She and Tony make a good team. Hehe. Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	5. Chapter 5

"Once again, you've disobeyed my orders, Marmalade," Fury said roughly.

The Avengers and Marmalade had returned to the Helicarrier. The masked man had been sent to a cell to be interrogated by Coulson.

"I was trying to help!" exclaimed Marmalade with a frown. "You were sending them on a blind mission. There wasn't going to be anything found."

"Stark said he found something, though," Steve murmured. Confusion glazed his crystalline blue eyes.

"That was just apart of the plan," said Tony. "There wasn't anything there."

"Exactly. I found all I could. I wrote everything in the report I filed. The circumference of the explosion, the masked and hooded men, the Tesseract-powered weapons. And because of my plan, we have someone who can tell us exactly where the terrorist is."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Everyone turned to face Coulson. He had a frown on his face.

"Why?" Fury lifted an eyebrow. "Silent treatment?"

"Suicide."

"_Suicide?_"

"Yes, he had poison. But we're running a procedure now to discover his identity. We should be halfway done by now."

Marmalade frowned. Her plan had nearly worked. She just hadn't predicted a suicide. Then she looked at Fury. "Director, please let me take part in this mission. I won't fail you, I swear. Just give me a chance."

Fury frowned as he turned to glance at Marmalade, "I'll speak with you later."

Marmalade gulped softly as her brown gaze dropped to the floor.

"Well, for now, all of you will stay in the Helicarrier's quarterdeck. Marmalade, you know the way, please show Captain where they are. Stark, I'd like you to return to Banner for the meantime. Barton, Romanoff, I want you to go over the man's files once his identity has been found. You are all dismissed."

They all did as they were commanded. Marmalade led Steve down the hall, toward the quarterdeck. She let out a faint sigh, "I'm sorry if . . . I made you all look stupid or something. I was just trying to participate, I guess."

Steve smiled softly, "It's fine. I understand."

"I just can't believe Fury doesn't have any faith in me! I'm one of his best agents, and I'm treated like a rookie. I've been a Shield agent most of my—God, I've been a Shield agent my _entire_ life! My birth-parents were one of the most elite agents of Shield. I've been following in their footsteps. Coulson took me in as apprentice, I've had private training by Clint, and a dozen personal recommendations from Natasha and plenty of other superior agents and—" Marmalade paused. She looked down awkwardly, "Um, sorry. I didn't mean to just . . . gush like that. I usually keep things to myself."

Steve chuckled. "I think it's fine to get things off your chest. But—if you don't mind me asking—why are you so interested in being an Avenger?"

Marmalade paused, "I just . . . want to be great. I don't want to be just an average agent running around and obeying Fury. I know I can be apart of something _historical—legendary_ like the Avengers. Honestly, I want a challenge. You have no idea how envious and hysterical I got when I saw Tony's name in the Avengers Initiative files. I had to be suspended for a week from my rebuttal."

Steve laughed softly, "Really? You seem more . . . soft-spoken. Unless you find that offending."

The blonde brunette shook her head, "Nope. I usually am. I've never been the one to scream at concerts or anything. But I'm determined to become an Avenger."

"Being an Avenger isn't the greatest thing in the world, you know. Yes, we get recognition. But only the 'superhero' us. Not the real us. Hardly anyone knows who Steve Rogers is. In this millennium."

Marmalade shrugged her shoulders. Then she winced. Instinctively, her hand went up to her right shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Steve frowned, "What happened?"

The smaller woman sighed softly, "A bullet skimmed me, but I'm fine, honest."

"For a dame who claims to be honest, doesn't seem very honest."

Marmalade stopped in her tracks and blinked, "What'd you just say?"

Steve's eyes widened, "Oh, no, I-I-I—I mean—"

"You know, for a man who _acts_ like a gentleman, doesn't seem to _know_ how to be a gentleman."

He frowned, "Sorry, I'm . . . I'm not good at talking to beautiful women."

Marmalade opened her mouth, but closed it. He just called her beautiful. _No, he's a man. He's supposed to say women are beautiful. He's probably talked to dozens of women who he thought were beautiful._ She smiled softly, "Very flattering excuse, Mister Rogers."

His cheeks flushed, "You know, it would help me sleep better if you get that shoulder examined."

Marmalade sighed, "Fine. Just keep walking down this hallway At the end, turn left. That's where the quarterdeck is. Look for a door that has your name on it. If there isn't one, find one that starts with zero and that will be your cabin. Okay?"

Steve nodded as he turned to continue down the hall.

The young blonde brunette smiled softly as she turned in the opposite direction, heading toward the sickbay.

* * *

The Shadow sat within his room, staring at nothing. His patrol from Norway hadn't returned. Eventually, he learned that they were all vaporized. Save for one. One had either managed to escape from the Avengers, or had gotten himself captured. He didn't care what happened to him. He would either return or kill himself.

He smiled. Another attack in the States would be executed today.

"Master." A raspy voice sounded from behind him. "One of our own had also been vaporized by the weapon."

The Shadow's smile faded. He hated the loss of one his brethren.

"But I know who caused the havoc, Master. It was a girl, a Shield agent. Agent Marmalade. Should she be captured?"

The Shadow thought for a moment. She was the reason Shield discovered what they used to bomb the five countries. She was the reason some of his good men were dead. She was the reason why one of his own was dead. A new smile appeared on his face as he nodded his head. Agent Marmalade was sentenced to a capture. Whether it was with mercy or none.

* * *

**I am weak. All of these views made me want to post one more chapter. But this is the limit. At least for this week. Hehe.**

**Uh oh! Marma better watch out, huh? This had been a really fun story to write so far. I hope I don't lose muse for this, though. That would be bad.**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lokisawesome: Coming right up! Teehee x3 I blushed when I read this.**

* * *

"You, um, wanted to sir me, Fury?" Marmalade asked hesitantly to the back of Nick Fury. She had only been to this small, dark room a few times. This was where Fury often consulted with the four council members here.

Fury didn't turn to face her when he spoke, "You've been very . . . _persistent_, trying to join the Avengers. May I ask why?"

"I . . ." she felt awkward talking to the back of his bald, shiny head. "I want a challenge, Director. And I wish to make my birth-parents proud.

"I don't think signing a death-warrant would make your parents proud."

"The Avengers isn't a death-warrant. Not to me. It's a way for me to prove my skills, intelligence, strengths. If I were to die whilst in action, then so be it. I'd rather die that way than the way my birth-parents did. MIA and just _presumed_ dead. I want to be known, Nick. _Recognized_. I'm not a normal agent, and you've told me that yourself. So why won't you let me? Am I really not as skilled and ideal as you claimed me to be?"

Fury turned to face her, "You are a talent agent, Marmalade. One of my finest. That's why I'm willing to give you the chance. I will permit you to join the ranks of the Avengers. But I will withdraw from the initiative if I see you should no longer take part in it. Is that understood?"

Marmalade could barely believe her ears. Her brain was barely working when she nodded her head in certification. She was an Avenger. Just like her friends, like her adoptive father. She finally got the rank she had been determined to get for years. "I-I understand, Director Fury. Thank you."

Fury nodded. "Now go and rest. I want you fighting condition by—"

"Director!"

Both turned to face Agent Hill.

"There's been another bombing. It hit Blackfoot, Idaho."

* * *

The five of the Avengers were soon on a jet to Idaho.

Tony scoffed at Marmalade, causing her to raise a brow, "What's up your suit?"

"I can't believe Fury let you join the Avengers. What was he thinking? Did you sexually harass him or something?"

Steve's blue eyes widened while Hawkeye snickered and Black Widow simply smiled.

Marmalade's jaw nearly dropped, "Wh-what? You were helping me try to join, and now you're mad at me? _And_ accusing me of stupid things that I would never even imagine myself doing!"

"Being an Avenger is dangerous, Marmalade. I'm just worried about your well-being."

"I thought you were annoying with high school dances, now you're just being ridiculous. Jesus, you're more confusing than Fury."

"Hey, boys lose their minds at dances with pretty girls around. And you were younger than all of them."

"That's because you made me skip so many grades."

"You were too smart. And—"

"What's that?" Steve asked, interrupting Tony. Everyone looked out the window to see a red, white, and blue colored armor flying next to them.

A familiar voice came from the intercom of the jet, "Look, I know you're Shield agents, but the army has this under control. So you can take your bird and fly back to your nest. This is a command from Iron Patriot."

"We don't respond to that name, Rhodey," Tony muttered stubbornly. "Only War Machine gets respect."

"T-Tony? What are you doing?"

"This isn't just Shield business, pal. The Avengers are involved, too."

"So . . . this is more serious than we thought, I guess."

"Would just come in here? It's easier to talk to you that way. And it's getting weird having to lean over the Star-Spangled Avenger just to talk to you."

Steve was leaning back as far as he could, as if Tony had a strange, contagious disease. Marmalade giggled, causing the Captain's cheeks to flush faintly.

The back of the jet opened, and James Rhodes swooped in. His iron face mask opened when his dark brown eyes landed on the blonde-haired brunette agent. "Marmalade? Wow, I haven't seen you in forever! You look great. How old are you now? Sixteen?"

Marmalade chuckled, "Actually, I turn twenty in a couple of months. But your flattery is highly appreciated."

"It isn't flattery when it's true. You always look younger to me. And since when were you four-fifths blonde?"

"Four-fifths?" Marmalade laughed softly.

"Well, you can see the dark brown so . . ."

"I'm trying to get ombré highlights."

"What? Geez, you know I don't know French, Marmalade. Now—on to the grown-up stuff—how much do you guys know about the bombings?"

"They aren't bombings," explained Natasha. "They're more like explosions. Attacks. Tesseract energy has been used. That's why we haven't found any bomb casings. But we still don't know who's behind this. Our first and only suspect killed himself before we could get him to say anything."

"Did you ever find out who it was?" Steve asked.

Natasha nodded, "Rodger Kensington. A veteran."

"So he has veterans working for him," muttered Tony. "Sounds an awful lot like the Mandarin."

"We checked on Trevor," said Rhodey. "Still in prison. And no signs of Extremis activity. I've scanned all the attacks in North America."

"Well, we'll find out soon," murmured Hawkeye. "We're here."

Marmalade exhaled deeply. This was her first mission as a true Avenger. She wasn't going to screw this up.

* * *

The masked men stood hidden around the smoking bomb sight. This time, they were ready for the Avengers. Hooded men gripped their Hydra weapons. They held them close to their chests. The Shadow had a plan. As soon as the Avengers arrived, the plan would be executed. If they failed . . . Many prayed that they wouldn't.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Sorta. :/**

**Turns out, I didn't go to Grandma's house. So I decided to upload this chapter.**

**Woohoo! I'm so excited to bring Rhodey into this. I loved the relationship between Tony and Rhodey in IM 2 & 3.**

**Will the Shadow's plan work or fail? You'll find out next week!**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	7. Chapter 7

**Lokisawesome: Hehe, up, today's upload-day for _Dark Horse_!**

* * *

The jet stopped a mile away from the attack sight. Marmalade, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, and Iron Patriot departed the jet atop a five-story building. Hawkeye went to hide it somewhere.

"Alright, what exactly are we looking for this time?" asked Tony.

"We need to capture them. Doesn't matter how many," murmured Captain America. "And we have to check them for the poison. No suicides this time. We need straight answers."

"Any idea which ones we capture, though?" Marmalade asked hesitantly. All four turned to look at her. She suddenly felt small. "Well, i-i-if you think about it: the masked men seem to be lower ranked than hooded ones. I studied them while you guys fought in Norway. The 'Hoods' seem to have more power or command, or have more respect, possibly, than the masked men. So maybe we should also try getting one of them, maybe?"

"Told you she's Avenger material," Black Widow smirked as she sent a sideward glance at Steve.

Tony folded his iron-clad arms stubbornly over his chest.

Marmalade gave Steve a glare of confusion when he exhaled loudly, "We'll target the Hoods, then. But still, capture is our aim. Killing will be a final resolution."

A few minutes later, Hawkeye joined them. He was panting, "They're there. The Shadow's men. I was nearly spotted on my way here."

"Then let's get them out first. Stark, Rhodes, get their attentions."

"Got it, come on, Iron Douche," Iron Man flew off toward the bomb sight.

Rhodes sighed as he reluctantly follow and shouted at him, "Very professional, Stark!"

Marmalade smiled with amusement.

Iron Man and Iron Patriot hovered high above the center of the attack sight. "Hey!" Iron Man yelled. "I think I found something. R-right here! Here!"

Marmalade growled as she face-palmed, "Could he be any more obvious?"

Surprisingly, the masked men came out shooting at the two iron-attired men. They immediately fought back using their weakest attacks, trying to stun or faint them. Hawkeye had climbed his way up the top of the nearest, stable building and began to shoot his arrows at the men. He aimed for their legs and arms. Disabling them. Captain America and Black Widow came out fighting in hand-to-hand combats.

Marmalade avoided the scene. She was scouting for the Hoods. Or at least one of them. She held the blade of a throwing knife expertly. Ready to throw it at her targets. In the corner of her eye, she saw a blue light. The same blue the Tesseract made. Like lightning, she turned and threw the knife at the Hood. The handle hit the Hood, causing him to lose consciousness before he could shoot Hawkeye. Stealthily, she ran toward him, narrowly missing a limp body that Captain America had thrown unknowingly in her direction.

Once she reached the hooded, comatose body, Marmalade swiftly relieved him of the Hydra-related weapon. Slowly, she reached for the long, black hood. When she left it over, a gasp escaped her lips.

"There's a lot more of these thugs than I thought," Hawkeye muttered as he shot a fleeing masked man without even glancing in his direction. "Is Marmalade done yet?"

"Don't know," answered the captain. "Haven't gotten a signal yet." He grunted as he kicked a man in the abdomen, causing him to fly back a yard before collapsing.

"Well, either way, looks we're win—" Tony stopped midway. Everyone froze and turned to see what he was looking at. Marmalade and a Hood stood before them. The hooded man had an arm around the agent's neck and a gun held at her head. Strapped behind him was a Hydra gun. Instinctively the Avengers grabbed the nearest masked man available, except for Hawkeye, who had an arrow ready, but pointed away.

"You let her go, and we let them go," demanded Rhodey.

The hooded man's head tilted to the side. A moment later, he shot all four of the men in the chest without any hesitation. He returned the gun's tip to Marmalade's head. "Let _what _go?" the man chuckled sinisterly. "Kill them all, threaten my own life if you must. You aren't getting this brat that easily. I advise you all to not try to shoot me. Or there might miss me." He gestured to Marmalade with a nasty grin.

"Tony," Marmalade whimpered. The man hissed at her as he tightened his grip around her neck. The look in Marmalade's brown eyes made neither of them move. They weren't begging for her to be saved. They were pleading for them to not do anything they would regret. More specifically Tony.

Slowly, the man began to back away, dragging Marmalade with him. She flashed Tony a reassuring smile as she gave him the 'okay' signal with her hand. Then they vanished behind a shadow.

* * *

**NOTICE! For LIV readers: I will be posting the next chapter of LIV either tomorrow, Sunday, or maybe even sometime next week. Sorry! But I've already started losing some of my muse. Hopefully I'll get it back before you guys start thinking I ditched the story.**

**Nine points for the Shadow (including the attacks, so yeah, it's nine). One for Shield. Looks like the Shadow's plan worked after all. And after all the hard work the Avengers put into their attack! Marmalade was so confident, too. Oh well. Like all stories, the good prevails. You just never know how. And you won't unless you read the upcoming chapters.**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	8. Chapter 8

**Lokisawesome: Well... that's part of Tony's charm, right? Rashness.**

* * *

Eerie silence plagued the bridge when Marmalade's capture had been announced. Fury had a frown on his face. He had never imagined something like this would happen so soon to the young, almost innocent agent.

The silence was shattered when Agent Coulson entered the bridge, "Director Fury, we have some answers."

Everyone turned their heads to face them, save for Steve, Tony, and Clint.

"They weren't poisoned. We cleaned them of everything before they regained consciousness."

"What did you learn?" asked Fury.

"The Shadow—Wormwood, as he is called—has an army of veterans, thieves, thugs, assassins, and spies at his disposal. They call their Tesseract-powered weapons Tesseweapons. Wormwood had invented a serum similar to Extremis, only they don't have fire and the possibility of blowing themselves up. Instead, they lose some control over their body. They only do what they were commanded to do, like police dogs. Unlike Extremis, they don't have any special perks or abilities aside from having more durable muscles, making them seem almost invincible."

"That could be considered a 'special perk'," Fury muttered. "But go on."

"Wormwood plans on ruling Earth, sir."

"Is that it? Just an unknown terrorist trying to rule the world."

"One more thing: he isn't from here. He's from another world. I tried finding out which one, but not even they knew."

Fury frowned, "Great."

Suddenly, ominous thunder echoed in their ears. Naturally, everyone looked upward.

"My God if that's—" Fury's murmur was interrupted by Hill's announcement.

"Sir, we've got incoming right above the Helicarrier."

Coulson smiled, "It sure is."

"Let him in," ordered Fury.

A moment later, the god of thunder strode in behind two smiling, female agents who had volunteered to guide him to the bridge.

Thor's eyes widened when he entered, "Son of Coul! You stand again!" His voice rumbled like thunder as he spoke. It brought small smiles to only a few of the other Avengers.

"I sure am," Coulson grinned. "Did you get contact from Selvig and Foster?"

Thor paused before answering, "Fear not. T'was sent here when word spread that the dark elves have come to Earth. I am here to see their turmoil as Protector of Earth."

"Dark elves?" Fury echoed. "What dark evils?"

* * *

Marmalade woke up finding herself in a dark room and an uncomfortable position. She was painfully tied to a pole. Her wrists were bound together in rope and handcuffs. Inside her head, her brain rattled against her skull. Marmalade had been hit in the head several times before she was knocked out. A moan escaped her. Her entire body felt weak.

"You've been quite a pain, dear."

A voice made her alert as she swung her head to and fro, searching for the maker of the cool voice. Emerging from the darkness was Wormwood. Marmalade gasped at the sight of him. His skin was rough-looking and pale with small, beady eyes. The dark elf's ears were small and pointed. He had a smirk on his face, "Like a thorn from a rose."

"What the hell are you?" she growled.

"Wormwood, a dark elf. Loyal follower of Malekith. You see, before his defeat by Thor Odinson, he had promised me rule over Earth. _If_ I can win it. And so far, I've been quite successful."

Marmalade frowned before her head dropped, "What do you with me, Mister Wormwood?"

He chuckled, "You're very polite for a prisoner. You've been foiling my plans. No one was supposed to discover the ingredient to my formula. Therefore, you shall be punished. In the end, you'll either beg for death, or you'll be gone before you'd have to worry about embarrassing yourself at my feet." With that, Wormwood turned on his heel, causing his ebony cape to flutter behind him dramatically. He left without another word.

Marmalade tried to think of positive things. Tony's jokes and juvenile immaturity. Coulson's mocking silliness during missions. Clint telling her that she would never been good as him and would fail her archery and shooting tests with smiles and the goofy grin and compliment when she would make a bulls-eye. Natasha pointing out other agents, even targets, that would be nice either on a date or in the bed.

She laughed softly at that.

Sometimes, with Banner, he would show her the little side-projects he was working on before shooing her away by giving her money to go shopping. Rhodey completely spoiled her. Not as bad as Tony. But every time her saw her he had something to give her. From a dainty pair of earrings, to a one hundred to two hundred gift card to a fancy store. Pepper acted like a mother. Natasha was more of the big sister. Pepper would always make sure she was drinking plenty of water and always tried to encourage her to wash her hair everyday. But she spent most of her life in France. They didn't wash their hair often. Maybe a few times a week to biweekly. And Marmalade liked her messy hairdo.

_Maria Hill._ Marmalade and Hill didn't get a long too well. They had different visions on scenarios. Hill liked going head-on into missions. Marmalade preferred to wait, observe what they could, strategize, and then attack. But they had shared plenty of laughs when they teased rookie agents that they trained together. She smiled. _Silly Maria Hill._

And then there was Steve. He worried about her shoulder and called her beautiful and that was it. Marmalade frowned. She'll need a few more memories than that with him. _If I live._

* * *

**NOTICE! LIV is now on hiatus. Jumbling two projects is a bit difficult. Once Dark Horse meets its conclusion, I'll start working on LIV again. Heh, sorry!**

**You gotta love memories, right? Marmalade has had some nice times. She doesn't have a lot of angst like most characters, aside from her MIA/dead folks.**

**And Thor's here. Yea! I haven't seen Thor 2 yet, so I don't know how the dark elves ended. So I might reword this the ****_slightest_**** bit, unless I was close enough to the main plot.**

**So, what's gonna happen to Marmalade?**

**What do the Avengers plan to do?**

**Remember to comment! They're very appreciated here!**

**X Noir loup**


	9. Chapter 9

**Lokisawesome: Wikipedia. Hehe, I never really read the comics or anything. I wanted to have a real villain for this. I chose Wormwood because he had the coolest/weirdest name.**

* * *

"I never knew you had a daughter," Thor said to Tony. They had been ordered to stay upon the Helicarrier. Fury didn't want Wormwood's followers to be roused in any way. He, Tony, and Agent Coulson were in a small room with a table of refreshments.

"She's not really my daughter," Tony sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "I adopted her years ago. Probably a mistake on my part. I've never been father material."

"You're too hard on yourself, Stark," Coulson murmured. "She wouldn't be here if it weren't for your actions, after all."

"She also wouldn't be the hostage of a damn dark elf. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have helped her. I should've just gone along with Fury. Obviously the man knew what he was doing."

"We both know agreeing with people, especially Fury, isn't your style, Stark."

"Well . . ." Tony's voice trailed off, unable to think of an argument.

"I can assure you, Tony," said Thor with one of his ear-to-ear smiles, "that I will do all I can to help you get Lady Marmalade out of Wormwood's evil clutches. And I will also rid Earth of Wormwood's desire to conquer."

"From what we learned from your battle with Malekith, iron is the dark elves' weakness, right?" Coulson asked the Norse god.

"Yes."

"To bad your suits aren't entirely made of iron, hm?" Coulson cocked a brow at Tony. "A bit _ironic_, isn't it?"

Tony smiled at him, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"A little bit, yes."

Tony's smile remained as he looked away. "I can hear Poodle laughing now." Then the smile faded to a straight face, "We should be out there, doing something."

"That 'something' might not help, Tony. It's better to go in with a plan. That's what Marmalade would have done if she was in your place, and you in hers."

Tony said nothing in response.

"Agent Coulson, Agent Barton, and Agent Romanoff to the bridge."

All three men looked up at the sound of the intercom.

"Sounds like the show's about to begin." Coulson smirked as he spun on his heel and left for the bridge.

—

Marmalade lied on the floor panting heavily. Her blonde-brown hair was even more astray. Cuts and bruises were all over her arms. The agent's leather clothing was sliced in some places, showing gashes on her sides and legs. Blood trickled from several areas of her body. Including her lip and cheek.

"What else do you know, mortal?" Wormwood spat at her trembling corpse. "Where is Shield's base?"

Her bottom lip quivered slightly before she finally regained enough energy to speak, "I don't know anything else. I swear. I only knew about the energy you were using for the attacks."

"But you know about us. We dark elves. That's why you targeted them, did you not?"

Marmalade whimpered as she tightly shut her eyes, not letting tears to fall. She shook her head, "I only found today. I targeted them because they had the better weapon." The agent was telling the truth. But nothing that would give away anything.

"Where is Shield's base, mortal?"

She went rigid. She couldn't give up that. Marmalade fluttered her eyes shut, pretending she had fainted, fallen asleep, whatever Wormwood would believe. The dark frowned deeply with a stern, irritated glare. He unsheathed a long, leather whip, and lashed it across her back before turning round to leave abruptly. Marmalade bit her tongue. She couldn't scream. She couldn't move. Otherwise he would return to continue the interrogation.

Marmalade lied still until slumber took its toll. She slept on the filthy, cold stone floor beneath her. She slept on her dry blood.

* * *

**Not much really in this chapter. Just a peak at what happens to Marmalade at Wormwood's secret base. Hehe. . .**

**Stay tuned for next for another chapter.**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	10. Chapter 10

Marmalade was ready to beg. She was ready for death. It would be better than the state she was in. The young blonde-brunette could barely stand. She couldn't recover the energy to get herself up. Her left ankle was broken while her right shoulder was dislocated. Bumps, bruises, and—possibly—infected cuts ruined her once beautiful, smooth olive-tan skin.

Her chest heaved with each painful breath she took. Marmalade was certain a few ribs were broken. She had only been there a few days. Those few days were like a trip to hell for her.

After taking a shallow gulp of air, she whispered in a hoarse, cracked voice, "I love you, Tony." A faint smile crawled onto her face. But it disappeared when the door to the room open. Wormwood stood before her. Marmalade's broadsword was held in his right hand, while her thrusting dagger was in the other. The dark elf grinned savagely at his pathetically weak captive.

* * *

Coulson drove a black vehicle to New Orleans, Louisiana. It didn't have the Shield logo on the sides. The agent went in disguise. He had sunglasses hiding his eyes, and a straight-face, making him look serious and professional. An agent had managed to find Marmalade's tracer. It was his job to determine the exact location of Wormwood's hideout.

"Coulson, how close are you to the designated area?" asked Agent Hill, speaking into his earpiece from the Helicarrier.

"Five more miles," Coulson answered as he took a turn. The agent found himself in the shady side of the city. It seemed darker than the rest of the city. Unwelcoming. Some of the people were huddled together, talking and smoking and drinking, hobos sat around small pits of fire with empty metal cans, gangs snickered at the occasional passerby and shoved them around when they walked by.

Coulson frowned softly but thought little of it as he continued down the street.

The agent parked the car in front an old, tall, abandoned-looking warehouse. He studied the building before speaking, "Looks to be an old warehouse. It appears abandoned, but that doesn't mean it is, right?"

"We'll the send the Avengers out and alert the local police force immediately."

Coulson nodded once before driving off. His frown deepened lightly. He worried about Marmalade. They had a special connection. He thought of the young agent as his baby sister. Phil sighed softly as the car stopped in front of a red light. He pulled out his phone, and looked at a picture of them many years ago. Marmalade was twelve, and just accepted as a true agent of Shield. A smile appeared.

_Honk!_

The agent glanced at the rear-view mirror, then in front of him. A green light. Coulson cleared his throat as he put his phone down and drove off. Just as he left, the light changed to yellow. Multiple cars were honking at him now. The agent simply smirked.

—

Steve sat in his cabin in the Helicarrier, staring at the window. All he could see were clouds, sometimes the green sea below. He felt awful. He worried about a girl he had just barely met. He sighed deeply as he grabbed a cracker and bit on it softly. After swallowing, he finally spoke, "Her being captured has taken affect on a lot of you."

Natasha's gaze dropped to the floor. She sat across from him. "She earned a reputation. She was innocent."

Steve blinked before glancing at the red-haired woman, "Innocent?"

"At the time. After going through Shield's difficult and advanced training, the innocence disappeared. She started thinking like an agent." Then she smirked. "Only sometimes, though. Marmalade can be as immature as Tony at times, but smart and strategic like Fury almost. She's the 'free spirit' of Shield. And we're going to get her back. Today."

* * *

Tony's jaw was set as he fixed a few of the suit's minor damages. He was determined to see the end of Wormwood.

* * *

**Today is my birthday! I turned 15 at 1:44pm! So, I decided to upload a special treat for you guys!**

**Another chapter that'll glue the pieces together. There be a considerable amount of action in the next one. Promise!**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	11. Chapter 11

"Master, Wormwood!"

The dark elf frowned in his seat as he gazed out at New Orleans from the top of the warehouse he had occupied.

"A vehicle had stopped in front of the building, master."

"It's them, isn't it?" Wormwood murmured. "The _Avengers_." The dark elf spat the name of the superhero Shield group.

"We believe so, master."

The elf arose from his seat. "Then let us prepare for battle, yes?"

* * *

Iron Man and Iron Patriot flew out toward New Orleans in front of a jet with the remaining Avengers inside. No one breathed a word. The tension of the upcoming battle left them all feeling too anxious to speak or utter or whisper. The city had been notified of the attack. Evacuations had already started. Anywhere within at least a six mile radius of Wormwood's warehouse had been cleared of civilians.

Hesitantly, Captain America broke the silence, "What's the plan?"

"We attack," Tony answered flatly.

Steve frowned, "We need more detail than just that, Stark."

Colonel Rhodes responded, "Tony and I will get all we can from above. Barton will be stationed on the highest building. The rest of you will attack and try to get into the warehouse and go from the ground up. When you see someone armed with a Tesseweapon, you have to kill them quick, or they'll kill you. From what the hostages said, there should be at most two score of them. Most of Wormwood's army is made up of humans."

"Do not underestimate the dark elves," warned Thor. "Even without the Tesseweapons, they could inflict damage. You all had great fortune with the dark elves you had encountered. They might have been the weakest of them all. They are strong, fast—"

"Yeah, superhuman, got it, Shakespeare," Tony interrupted the thunder god. "I've got a lock on a target. Let the games begin."

And so they did. When the first laser was shot from Iron Man, hell broke loose. Instead of bullet, the men fired back with powerful lasers. None of them were as powerful and remarkable as the Tesseweapons, though.

Just as Hawkeye was getting ready to land the jet on the roof of a building, a dark elf shot twice at the jet, hitting both wings. The jet narrowly missed the top of a building as he fell to the ground. Shortly after, the dark elf fell slain by the laser of Rhodey. Thor jumped out and flew into the sky, using his legendary hammer, Mjolnir. Hawkeye managed a safe landing, whilst crushing a few of Wormwood's followers.

"Remember your positions," commanded Captain America as he exited the fallen aircraft. He and Black Widow began making their way to the warehouse while Hawkeye was already scaling up a tall building, climbing for the roof. Thor landed near Captain before whacking a man upside his head with the hammer.

Overhead, Iron Man and Iron Patriot attacked from above. Shooting men below. Hawkeye mostly targeted the dark elves. Right when his eyes landed on a hooded figure, he would sly them with an arrow to the head or chest.

Soon, the Avengers were joined by the New Orleans navy and police force. Men in either navy blue or cop uniforms shot at the men who had betrayed Earth to join the evil dark elf.

The battle had begun.

* * *

**Told you there would be action! And there's a lot more of that in the upcoming chapters. Mark my words. Also: sorry for the late update! I had a busy weekend with no wifi on Saturday and Sunday, and I had a party on Friday. So I'll update again on Thursday ****_and_**** Friday!**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	12. Chapter 12

**ATTENTION! There's a poll concerning my LIV story on my profile. Should I rewrite it or not?**

* * *

The battle raged on. Many of Wormwood's elves had fallen. But the stamina of the Avengers was starting to slacken and suits were losing energy. Captain America panted after swatting a man with his shield. The man screamed as he crashed through the window of the warehouse from the seventh floor.

"Tired, Cap?" Black Widow smirked as she shot a man in the head.

"Course not," Steve chuckled warily.

"Good, because Wormwood should be on the next floor. Thor, you go on ahead."

The god nodded as he swung his hammer, nailing a blow to a masked man's head. He ran toward the staircase and sprinted up the stairs. His red cape aflutter.

Outside, Hawkeye had nearly run out of arrows. Three were left. He took one and shot a dark elf that was about to shoot Iron Patriot with a Tesseweapon. It soared straight and true. He took the second one. Using the bow, he changed the arrow to a grappling hook. After notching the arrow, Hawkeye aimed at the top of the warehouse. The arrow flew toward his target after being released. He jumped off of the building. The arrow tugged, allowing him to fly into the window on the eighth floor. He winced when he crashed through, but managed to collect himself quickly. There was no one there.

"Dammit," he muttered as he gritted his teeth with frustration. The room was dark, aside from the light that came through the shattered window. In the center of the room was a dark throne. Across from it were various monitors on the city and where Wormwood had attacked.

Suddenly, Thor entered the room. The Asgardian looked at the agent with slight confusion in his blue eyes.

"He's not here," Hawkeye murmured. "I bet I know where, though."

* * *

Tony grunted when he was hit by a Tesseweapon laser. It had struck his right arm, causing the armor over his arm and hand to melt away. "Great," he growled. "Rhodey!"

The red, white, and blue painted suit flew in from behind and shot the dark elf. "I've checked the area," said Rhodey, "there aren't any more dark elves. The navy and cops can handle the men. We should head inside. That's where the rest of the elves are."

"Let's go, then."

The two iron-clad men went toward the warehouse. Tony wasn't as graceful as his friend. Without the other arm, it was difficult to control.

"Sir, I request you refrain from flight," advised Jarvis.

"I'm aware, Jarvis."

The Avengers met up on the first floor.

"Alright," Steve began, "obviously, everyone else is downstairs. Our objective now is find Wormwood or Marmalade. Doesn't matter which is first. And we stay in a group. No wondering off."

The group descended the staircase, below the first floor. They were as silent as wind. Killing anyone swiftly before they could make a sound and alert others of their presence. Right when they entered a wide passage way, they were surrounded by dark elves. None of them were Wormwood, though.

"You're all dead," smirked Rotwing, Wormwood's right-hand elf.

Steve smirked back as his chest heaved with each deep breath he took, "I don't think so."

Iron Man held up his left hand at the elves in front, while Iron Patriot aimed at the ones behind. Everyone else stood between them.

"If you value your lives, you'll take us to Wormwood," Thor growled at Rotwing. The dark elf scowled as he commanded them to lower their weapons. Rotwing led the Avengers further down another flight of stairs with the other elves a few yards behind them. The dark elf stopped and pointed at a door in front of them, "I go no further. The door that you are 'bout to enter . . ." his voice trailed off as he grinned cruelly, "you might as well walk into hell. May the best of fortune go with you. You'll need as much as you can."

Iron Man opened the door. All of them walked inside. It was dark. The only light came with old, flickering lightbulb dangling from the center of the ceiling. Standing on a tall platform, staring at the wall, was Wormwood. Slowly, he turned to face them. He smiled, "What took you all so long? I've waiting for you."

Tony glared as his face mask lifted, revealing a dirty, sweaty face with a few cuts on his cheeks and forehead, "Where's Marmalade."

Wormwood paused before tilting his head slightly, "Who?"

"Shit," Tony snarled as he rose his hand and aimed at the dark elf. The laser began to brighten with power.

"Stark," Steve warned him. Reluctantly, Tony's hand dropped to his side, dimming the laser's light.

Steve took a step forward, standing in front of the Avengers with an air of authority as he glowered at Wormwood, "We're here for Agent Marmalade."

"Oh . . ." Wormwood murmured. "You mean the little wretch that kept foiling my plans?" He smiled. "She's right here. She's been waiting for you, Tony." Wormwood tossed the agent's sword. It clattered to the ground. The once shiny, metal blade, was stained with blood from the hilt to its tip. The dark elf picked up something else, and tossed it effortlessly with the sword. It was the body of a girl with dark brown, blonde-dyed hair. The corpse tumbled toward the Avengers, and landed in front of Steve's feet.

It was Marmalade.

* * *

**Who expected this?**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


	13. Chapter 13

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Steve nearly gagged at the mortal remains of the once beautiful agent. Marmalade's thrusting dagger stuck out of her heart. Her dark brown eyes were clouded over from death. All over her body were nasty slashes bestowed upon by her own broadsword. Her shoulder was obviously dislocated, and her ankle was tilted at an abnormal angle.

Tony gapped at the sight, speechless, as he fell to his knees. The once strong, independent man felt weak as he pulled her limp body close to his. It was cold under the touch of his free right hand. He didn't even have the strength to cry.

Blinded with rage, Captain America snatched the hilt of the sword and swung it like it was his shield. Wormwood wheezed when the blade lanced his abdomen. He let out a final cry before falling over the edge of the platform, slain. The dark elves heard the cry of their fallen leader and charged. But the Avengers were prepared. They fought like madmen. Aside from Tony. He was oblivious to the entire scene unfolding around him. The only thing running through his mind was Marmalade. The fallen agent. The daughter he never had that he wished he had spent more time with. Thousands of things he regretted. Thousands of things that kept him from being like the father he should have been.

Natasha had run out of bullets. She attached hand-to-hand with a dark elf after disabling the Tesseweapon by kicking it out of his hands. Clint whacked and thwacked with his bow, making blows to their necks and heads. Thor hammered his way through the elves with Mjolnir. Rhodey didn't have enough space to use his lasers. Instead, punched the faces of his targets.

Steve, however, was like a furious beast. His shield lied in a corner, temporarily forgotten. He attacked with fists and elbows and feet and knees. An unfortunate elf had his neck snapped like a twig before he snatched the hood of another and brought his head to his knee. Steve ignored the elf's blood that splattered onto his knee as he continued to assault the hooded elves.

The last elf was by far the largest of them all. He glared at Captain America who was charging him without hesitation.

"Rogers," Natasha warned loudly.

The Captain was deafened from battle. All he could see or hear was the brutish dark elf's taunts.

"Steve!" Natasha cried.

Steve lunged at the elf. They wrestled, punched, and kicked at each other mercilessly. The dark elf swiped a blow to Steve's head, leaving a bleeding cut. Like the voices behind him, he ignored it.

Eventually, Steve came out on top. His hands gripped the elf's throat tightly. He gurgled and thrashed beneath him. The dark elf's eyes began to roll into the back of his head. The last thing Steve remembered was hearing the Mjolnir's soft melody before pain erupted on the side of his head. Blackness fogged over his sight.

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The battle was over.

Marmalade was immediately taken to the sickbay of the Helicarrier. Banner had been busy tweaking his latest project. The project he had kept from everyone. Alas, it wasn't complete, but it would be able to work once. It was a machine that could bring people back from death. Marmalade was the first test subject. Everyone sat around Marmalade's corpse. Her shoulder and ankle were fixed, her deepest scars were stitched. She had died only a few hours before their arrival. The blonde brunette still had a chance at survival.

Steve entered the room with medical tape wrapped around his head. Thor had whacked him with Mjolnir in order to pull him out of his mad and insane rush of battle. In his hand was a cylinder cask of crimson red liquid.

Natasha blinked at it before asking, "What's that?"

Banner answered for him as he looked at a few things on his machine, "His blood. It should help bring Marmalade back since it has the super soldier serum. This is his one and only blood donation." He chuckled to himself as he took the cask from Steve and injected it into the machine. Needles connected to the machine were sticking out of Marmalade's body on her chest, arms, abdomen, and one on her forehead. "You kids ready?" Bruce asked as he looked at Tony, Rhodey, Thor, Natasha, Clint, Fury, Coulson, Hill, and Steve. No one responded. They were all too busy looked at Marmalade. Bruce muttered, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

With a push of a button and the flip of a switch, the machine began to run. In a glass, a flame flickered with electric sparks spiking here and there. Steve's blood was drained from the cask. It was divided into the tubes that went to the needles on Marmalade's body. The blood entered her own blood stream. Once the cask was empty, the flame flickered off, and the machine powered down. That was all it could do. Bruce took out the needles and placed them on the counter. Everyone stared at the heart monitor.

Nothing but a horizontal green line.

Tony shook his head, "No. No. No. No. Marmalade, it's time to wake up." He stood up and walked to his daughter's bedside and gripped her hand tightly. "Come on, baby girl. You haven't failed once. You're not gonna fail like this, I swear to God you won't." He sniffled as he ran his fingers through her combed hair. "Don't leave Daddy."

Natasha choked back a tear as she looked down. Frowns appeared on all the faces in the room. Even Maria Hill's.

"Marmalade!" Tony screamed as his face fell onto her chest. He gripped the bed's sheets as he sobbed weakly.

Beep!

Everyone jumped at the sound and looked at the heart monitor. A moment later, there was another bump and the line jumped. As the beeping increased, Marmalade's chest heaved. Tony's gaze returned to her. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open as a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. She croaked, "Hi, Daddy."

Tony broke into a grin as he wrapped his arms tightly around Marmalade's petite frame. Smiles and cheers filled the room.

Marmalade frowned softly at the tear cascading Tony's face. Weakly, she rose a trembling arm and caught it with her finger. "What did I miss?"

Tony laughed softly as he cupped her cheeks with his hands and kissed her forehead, "I'll tell you after you have a nice sleep."

She whined, "I feel like I've been sleeping for ages."

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Two weeks later, Marmalade was throwing a tantrum. She was sick of being at the sickbay. A nurse was trying to calm her down.

"I want to get the hell outta here, Jepson," Marmalade spat. "I'm fine! I'm better now! Bruce said so himself! Now let—me—**GO**!" Marmalade thrashed her arm on the nearest table. It collapsed into pieces. The agent gasped while the nurse screamed in fright. She ran out the hallway calling for Banner. Marmalade breathed quickly as she looked at her hand, mystified. The agent just destroyed a metal side table. Her pulse quickened with fright as Banner rushed into the room. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Marmalade, just relax. Calm down. In. Out. In. Out."

Eventually, her quick, raspy breaths slowed and softened. Marmalade shut her eyes for a moment to recollect herself. "What the hell did I just do?"

"It's a side affect. There was a low chance of this happening, but . . ."

"God, do you have to keep me waiting like this, Bruce? Suspense is only good in the movies."

Bruce chuckled softly before he became serious again, "We had injected you with some of Steve's blood. The super soldier serum, you read about that, right?"

Marmalade frowned as she she leaned back into the bed, "I've got super strength now? Will I be faster and more durable? Stuff like that?"

"Stuff like that, yes. Let me have a quick scan of your brain and muscles." He pulled out a large scanner that resembled a metal detector. Slowly, he trailed it down her body to her feet. Bruce studied a monitor for a good couple of minutes. "Well, you're not really fast. Probably because it wasn't injected around your legs. But strength, yes, and not just because you completely disabled that table. Um . . . I'm not sure about durability . . . but there's something like it on here. But we can test that later. And something else that it isn't really recognized."

"Well can you make it recognized?"

"Maybe. After a few tests." Then he turned to face her and folded his arms across his chest. "A little birdie told me you wanna 'get the hell outta here'."

Marmalade smiled sheepishly. "I've been here for weeks, and the super soldier serum healed my wounds faster than you even thought it would. So can I please go now?"

"Fine, shoo. I don't need your carcass taking up an entire bed."

Marmalade gaped before grinning, "Rude!"

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**Yep, Marmalade can't be just a normal Shield agent. She's too awesome. The next chapter will be last of this story, but don't worry! There will be plenty of more Marmalade stories to come. Honest.**

**And I know there wasn't much action from Bruce, but I couldn't really get him a part in the story. There wasn't enough bad guys for him. Plus, I needed him working on the machine that would end up 'resurrecting' Marmalade.**

**Comments are highly appreciated!**

**X Noir loup**


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